Keep 'em coming – the CAHS welcomes more new members each and every month!
Our society continues to welcome new Anywhere-Online members from around the globe as well as renewals from existing and former members in both the Traditional and Anywhere-Online Membership categories. Thank you one and all!
Still a newsletter-only subscriber? In one easy step, you can go from subscriber to member to enjoy more in-depth content in our flagship publication, the CAHS Journal, by Following this link. Anywhere-Online Members enjoy instant access to all digital editions of our Journal through to the end of the year you join. The $25 Membership nets you 1000+ pages (and growing) of richly illustrated, expertly written, Canadian aviation history at less than 3¢ a page!
Anywhere-Online members can upgrade to Traditional at any time.
Traditional Membership includes the digital editions access as above, plus the print edition by mail, and starts at $50 for residents of Canada (varies according to mailing destination for non-residents).
Click the button above or, if you have a smartphone, simply point its camera app at the on-screen QR code to donate via mobile.
Journal Update
Posted – in the mail and on the site
All Traditional Members should all have received the print editions of Journals 57-1 and 57-2 in their mail boxes by now. Although feedback suggests that transit times from our mailing house varied wildly coast to coast as Canada Post continues to cite pandemic-induced problems on their website, we believe all deliveries have been completed.
All CAHS National Members – Traditional and Anywhere-Online alike – are reminded that they can immediately and always access the digital editions of these and every other Journal published since 2010 on our website's members' only area.
Non-members may also be interested to learn that the digital and print editions of these two issues will also be made available on our online shop later this week.
Next Up
Journals 57-3 and 57-4 are currently in layout. The digital editions will be posted to the website individually on completion of the editorial process, while the print editions will follow as soon as possible (taking into consideration mailing house queues and potential Canada Post delays).
Follow this link to check the website's Journal area for ongoing updates in between Newsletters. Instructions for logging in to the Members Only area are also provided (in red text) on that page.
Terry Higgins, Creative Director, Website Administrator,
CAHS Journal Managing Editor and Graphics Director,
All orders resulting from the June promotional offer trio of Shirlee Smith Matheson books have been mailed out. Thank you to everyone who participated.
Meanwhile, we've opted to extend last month's fund-raising promotions for another month, including…
CAHS member and author Carl Vincent's book Canadian Aircraft of WWII (Aviaeology Publishing's bestseller), illustrated throughout with CAHS Journal editor Terry Higgins' profile artwork.
Promo sales were strong last month and, given that the publisher's stock is low. this may be a "while supplies last" situation. Don't have yours yet? Click the "Buy Now" link below to learn more.
This CAHS fund-raiser special offer has been extended to the end of August (or while supplies last). Get yours for just $25.00 (GST included) plus $5.00 shipping per copy in Canada.
The publisher's retail price is $29.99 plus shipping and GST.
We still have a few copies of this interesting title remaining in stock. If you are a member of the Catalina Society, check out editor David Legg's review in your May newsletter. It has proven a welcome addition to the libraries of those interested in Arctic aviation or early Cold War RAF operations? Or you can see our own review here…
Still just $27 (GST included) plus $5.00 shipping anywhere in Canada.
The publisher's retail price is $34 (CAD conversion) plus shipping from the USA.
There are only a few of these lovely celebrations of Canadian Aviation art remaining in stock… buy one for the sheer enjoyment of the art, even if we are already more than halfway though the year!
On 11 July 2021, No. 431 Air Demonstration Squadron, the Snowbirds, celebrated their 50th Anniversary. The iconic team has been entertaining audiences across North America since 1971. Follow the link below to read about Canada’s remarkable aerial team from former commanding officer and team leader, Dan Dempsey.
The Northern Lights Aero Foundation announced the names of their 2020 recipients of the Elsie MacGill Award in the fall of 2020, with a Gala planned for 2021. The award spans seven categories that include business, education, engineering, flight operations, government, trailblazer and rising star.
Check out a recent pair of paintings portraying early jets of the Korean War by Canadian Aerospace Artists Association member and CAHS Journal contributing artist Peter Robichaud.
Secrets of Radar Museum is excited to announce their re-opening on 19 July. For their most recent and any follow-on updates, please click here, and to visit the museum website, please click here.
Canadian Aviation Moments
Question One: How did the training of skilled and semi-skilled workers during the RAF/RFC training plan in Canada benefit Canada post-First World War?
Source:
Dancing in The Sky, (Hunt) Pages 289-290.
Question Two: What was unique about an exploratory flight of the North West Territories by two RCAF pilots in the late summer of 1930?
Source:
Jericho Beach and the West Coast Flying Boat Stations, (Weicht) Pages 217-218.
Question Three: What approach option during the Second World War did the RAF need that would permit the returning aircrew to penetrate the last few hundred feet of fog and low cloud that totally obscured the ground?
Source:
No Prouder Place, Pages 185.
The Answers Will Appear in the August Newsletter
Here are the answers to July's Canadian Aviation Moments:
QUESTION 1: What was the amount spent by the British Government during the time that the RFC/RAF training plan operated in Canada?
ANSWER: “During the period when the RFC/RAF training plan operated in Canada, the British government spent $39,990,000 – a vast amount of money for that time. Put in a comparative context, the total expenditures of the province of Ontario for the years 1917 and 1918 were a little over $30 million, roughly one third less than what the RFC/RAF spent in Canada during the same period.”
FromDancing In The Sky – Page 289
QUESTION 2: Why did Western Air Command in late 1944 and into 1945 station 4 aircraft on Vancouver Island with orders to remain in a state of constant readiness?
ANSWER: “Notified that Japan was launching armed balloons against the west coast, Western Air Command stationed four aircraft on Vancouver Island with orders to remain in a state of constant readiness: two aircraft at RCAF Pat Bay and two aircraft mid-island at RCAF Tofino. On February 21, 1945, 133 (F) Squadron at Pat Bay, under the command of S/L J.E Sheppard, DFC, received a report of an object floating into the central Fraser Valley on the British Columbia mainland. P/O E.E. Maxwell was scrambled in an RCAF Kittyhawk IV and took off to investigate the report. He intercepted a Japanese fire balloon over Sumas Prairie and shot it down in a ball of flames.”
From Jericho Beach and the West Coast Flying Stations – Page 182
QUESTION 3: What new approach aids were introduced late in the Second World War?
ANSWER: “The SCS 51 system, initially developed in the USA, was one of the new approach aids being introduced to service late in the war. Introduced to Britain early in 1944, it provided azimuth direction, the localizer, and glide path information to the user through a system of tone modulation discriminations. This was a great advance over the earlier beam approaches, as it provided a continuous indication of deviations from course. The civilian version of this equipment became famous as the Instrument Landing System (ILS). Also developed late in the war was the Ground Controlled Approach (GCA), which consisted of an extremely high precision microwave radar, which provided the position of a “target” aircraft in azimuth, range and elevation. By this means the position of a landing aircraft relative to a predetermined approach path was displayed on a ground scope, whereby a skilled operator could provide directions to “talk the aircraft down”. This equipment, however, was still in a developmental stage during the war years. Similarly, the use of short-range microwave Airfield Control Radar (ACR) for directing the flow of aircraft in the vicinity of airports was pioneered at several Bomber Command stations during the war years, and much valuable experience was gained for future applications.”
From No Prouder Place – Page 185
A Virtual Chapter Virtual Event!
First Annual Virtual Art Show
– Announced by the CAAA Chapter of the CAHS –
The CAAA will present a virtual art show on the theme Help From Above - Humanitarian Aviation, in August. Submissions have been accepted from members of the Canadian Aerospace Artists Association and of the Canadian Aviation Historical Society. For more information, please click here.
CAHS and CAAA Member Don Connolly's "Mission Accomplished" shown below, is yet another fine example of artwork within this theme.
Select a chapter to discover what they have been up to since the last newsletter.
Many of our Chapters remain very active on Zoom with presentations every bit as good as they would be if we did not have pandemic restrictions to deal with!
Special Thanks To Our Supporters
In addition to its members, contributors, and newsletter subscribers, the CAHS is thankful for the ongoing support of its Corporate Members, Museum Members, and Partner Organizations, as well as the many individuals and organizations whose financial donations are so generously given.
If you have changed your mailing or e-mail address, please get in touch to keep us up to date. Contact the Membership Administrator here. To enquire about membership payment records, contact the Treasurer here.
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The Canadian Aviation Historical Society (CAHS)
P.O. Box 2700 • Station D • Ottawa • Ontario • K1P 5W7